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4 Must-Read Books for Aspiring Writers

If there's one thing writers love talking (and complaining) about, it's writing. Lots of authors have put out books about their writing processes -- some better than others. Here are four of my favorites. (And please use the comments to suggest more books on writing that deserve to be featured!)

1. Telling Lies for Fun & Profit

Telling Lies for Fun & Profit is easy to read, as it's actually a collection of magazine pieces -- each chapter is designed to grab a magazine reader, and this style actually makes it easy to put down in between chapters. As a whole, the book is more about the business and specifics of working as a writer than about the writing itself -- if you're looking for specifics on plotting and structure, go elsewhere. But if you want to read helpful, fun stories about how Block made his living writing fiction -- and how you can, too -- have a look, over at Amazon.

2. The War of Art

The War of Art (subtitled: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles) by Steven Pressfield is a clever twist on the classic "Art of War" by Sun Tzu. But this time, the enemy is "Resistance" -- an inner demon that seeks to divert and destroy the writer (or businessperson, or whatever) from his or her goal. Pressfield draws on his own experience "going pro" (he wrote The Legend of Bagger Vance after many unsuccessful novels and screenplays) to make a compelling statement to aspiring writers: treat writing like a job. Get up in the morning and do it; the Muse will come, if you stick it out. But more than just telling you to do it, he dissects a series of arguments and issues that get in the way. By two-thirds of the way trhough the book, I was ready to leap from my chair and go write something -- it's that compelling.

The last part of The War of Art goes slightly off the rails (in my humble opinion), as Pressfield describes his belief in angels who are actively interceding to help with his writing process (but only after being properly beseeched via prayer). But whether you believe in angels or not, the bulk of the book is genuinely useful in guiding a beginning writer from amateur to pro -- and it's organized in very short, bite-sized chapters. Check it out at Amazon.

3. On Writing

On Writing by Stephen King is a modern classic that tells King's story of becoming a writer, and gives details of his current process. I'm always curious about the specifics of a writer's daily life (what time does he wake up? Does he work at home or out in the world? And so on...) and King gives up all this information -- he describes his daily schedule, daily word counts, and what reference books he actually uses (okay, I'll just tell you here: Strunk and White). King's book is interesting both as autobiography (it was written around the time of his life-threatening encounter with a van) and as guidance for writers. He gives plenty of details and exercises on writing, with a major focus on dialogue -- one of his great strengths.

On Writing is a quick read, but there's material in the book for later study, should you be so inclined. If you're curious about Stephen King's early years typing in the laundry room of his trailer, this is the book to read. As usual, it's available at Amazon.

4. The Believer Book of Writers Talking to Writers

The Believer Book of Writers Talking to Writers is a compilation of interviews from The Believer, an excellent literary magazine. A few of the twenty-three interviews are previously unpublished, but the bulk are standard Believer fare -- smart, beautifully typeset discussions between creative people. I enjoyed this because it's so casual -- in general, it's just a lot of talking, and often the people talking are way smart. Warning for haters of The Believer/McSweeney's: you might find the discussion between Dave Eggers and David Foster Wallace a little crazy-making, but then again, what did you expect?

The Believer Book of Writers Talking to Writers is available...wait for it...from Amazon.

Now, I know there are more great books on writing out there in the wild. What are your favorites?

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Also on Mental Floss:

DID YOU KNOW? Marlon Brando hated memorizing lines so much that he posted cue cards everywhere to help him get through scenes.
He even asked for lines to be written on an actress's posterior. (That request was denied.)